What's New at KidsPeace

News and Notes from KidsPeace

KidsPeace has locations in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Georgia, Maine, Minnesota, North Carolina, New York, Nevada, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, some small and some large. The Orchard Hills Campus in Orefield, PA, is the largest, set on 262 wooded acres in a rural setting. This location houses the KidsPeace Psychiatric Hospital and several residential centers for the care of young people with emotional, behavioral or mental health issues.

Every year for a weekend in August, this campus becomes a very busy location as soccer players, coaches, family members and neighbors who all come together for the KidsPeace Annual Soccer Invitational. This year will be the 14th, and will be held on August 20 and 21. Teams from across the state gather for this first tournament of the season, where U9-U15 boys and U16-U19 girls compete.

KidsPeace is a welcoming host, providing activities, entertainment, food, a camping area and a pristine setting with great views of the Lehigh Valley for all attendees. Typically, some 4000 kids and adults visit the campus that weekend, and everyone comes away with a positive opinion of KidsPeace and its employees.

“The soccer tournament is a great opportunity for the teams and the community to visit KidsPeace,” says KidsPeace President and CEO Will Isemann. “It is a great opportunity for us to show off our beautiful campus and give back a bit to the community that supports us.” KidsPeace gives back to the community throughout the year, Isemann adds, in many measurable and intangible ways.

The proceeds of the Soccer Invitational will help support the good works of TeenCentral.Net and ParentCentral.Net (both described below) over the coming year.

KidsPeace invites our neighbors in the Lehigh Valley to visit our Orchard Hills campus and watch some great soccer on Saturday and Sunday, August 20th and 21st. The entire event will be staffed by KidsPeace employees who volunteer their time to help with this popular event. Admission is free.

KidsPeace ContributesKidsPeace was founded in Bethlehem, PA, in 1882 to provide a home for children orphaned by a smallpox epidemic, and has had a close relationship with its neighbors ever since. From its humble beginnings, KidsPeace has grown to provide hope, help and healing to children, families and communities in PA and across the nation. Last year alone, KidsPeace and its more than 1100 staff in the Lehigh Valley provided care to 2840 children.

KidsPeace employees are wonderful role models to the kids in care. They are enthusiastic volunteers for many causes and invite the children to participate with them. The employees and kids in the Lehigh Valley contributed many hundreds of volunteer hours to the community including:• Participating in numerous walks to raise money for autism, ALS, suicide prevention and more• Bake sales to raise money for local organizations• Volunteering at food banks• Helping at a farm for older animals• Visiting nursing homes• Performing for guests • Assisting with campus cleanups.

KidsPeace makes a large contribution to the local economy as well. Last year, KidsPeace:• Paid $1,760,000 in local and state payroll taxes• Provided $10,400,000 in free and under-compensated care to children• Spent $5,000,000 on food, clothing and other products purchased in the Lehigh Valley• Paid employees $44,000,000, which were spent in the Lehigh Valley.

Additional ContributionsKidsPeace opened it brand new Family Center last year on the Broadway site in Bethlehem, PA. This facility provides community based outpatient treatment to children and their families. Many services are coordinated through the Family Center, which provides free initial assessments of children, family and individual therapy, pediatric assessments, nutritional assistance and an array of services for children on the autism spectrum.

KidsPeace also offers two exceptional prevention and intervention websites that help teens and parents in the Lehigh Valley and around the world. TeenCentral.Net is a free, anonymous site where teens write about issues that are bothering them, receive advice from Master’s or Doctorate level counselors, read celebrity stores, learn about important issues such as domestic violence and weight awareness and post comments to other teens’ questions. All posts are reviewed and approved by a counselor before they appear on the site.

ParentCentral.Net is a website for parents that is also free and anonymous and operates similarly to TeenCentral.Net. No topics are taboo, and parents can receive answers to their questions in 24 hours from trained counselors with expertise in family issues.

KidsPeace.Org contains a wealth of information for mental health professionals, educators and parents, including the award-winning Healing Magazine, brochures and fliers on parenting, information about KidsPeace services and locations and newsworthy articles.

FosterCare.Com provides everything one needs to know about becoming a foster parent and providing the care that treatment foster children need. If you are interested in becoming a foster parent, you can fill out a form and get response from the nearest foster care office.